2002
We began the year 2002 with classes resuming for most of us on on Jan 7th. In
February Ben turned 12. No more children's menu discount!
In March we attended a birthday party for our friend Ron. The theme was the 1960's. We all came in costume. All of us had to rent, borrow, or make costumes…Except Tim… He just walked into the center of his closet and put on that old Leisure suit that I can't get him to get rid of. He thought that was the best party he's been invited to in a long time! We had a great time pretending like it was the "old days!"
On May 31st we attended our nephew Jake's Graduation from Prescott High School - This past semester he has been attending Northern Arizona University, majoring in in engineering.
In June we celebrated our 22nd Wedding anniversary. A few days later we went
to Los Angeles to celebrate Father's
Day and Tim's dad's 70th birthday (they were on the same day.) Ben went
a day early with his aunt, uncle, and cousins from Prescott, to go to Knott's
Berry Farm. Cousin Jonathan and Aunt April (from Illinois) were there, too!
They spent a little time at the beach.
This same month Arizona was ablaze. We witnessed the largest forest fire ever experienced by our state. The Rodeo-Chediski fire burned 467,066 acres in east central Arizona. (That's an area 17 times larger than San Francisco.) We lost about 85% of the areas that we have camped in over the last 25 years. The beautiful pine forests our children have camped in since they were newborns, became blackened sticks. This was the 4th the largest fire in United States post-settlement, recorded history. The summer was HOT - Our state had no fireworks displays, and no camping was permitted in any of the national forests, due to the risk of additional fires.
Tim's cousin Deborah Taylor, husband Mike, and family came to AZ to visit us from Shawnee,Oklahoma.
In August Jeff was best man in his friends Kirk and Laurel VanGorkom's outdoor wedding, at Yosemite. School for Lydiann resumed August 7. Bryan began his Senior year at McClintock High School, and Ben started Junior High. Jeff began a new full-time job, and is taking classes part time at ASU.
Early in September we drove to Los Angeles for Tim's 30th High School Reunion. We spent time driving all around South Gate, reminiscing. South Gate High School looks almost exactly like it did 30 years ago, when Tim and his classmates graced the halls. The reunion was well attended, and a good time was had by all. A highlight was talking to one classmate who has 18 children and 11 grandchildren! Amazingly, he and his wife ADOPTED ALL 18 children ! It was a joy to speak with them. They are an encouragement to all of us parents!
During October Break we worked on getting ready to host friends and family for Thanksgiving dinner. We had a wonderful time Thanksgiving Day with the 35 people having dinner at our house. It was a beautiful day, and we spent time visiting, EATING, and enjoying each other's company.
In December Ben and Jeff
attended the premier showing (at midnight) of the second Lord of the
Rings movie. Jeff bought Ben the ticket, and they waited in line for hours.
Half the fun was planning the event for the entire year before! It was a real
highlight of Ben's
year. We left the 26th and headed to Prescott, where we celebrated Christmas
with Tim's sister Cherrie and her family, and Tim's parents, who came in
from Los Angeles. We left there 48 hours later, and drove north and east, hoping
for snow to camp in . We were not disappointed! We
got into a whopper of a snowstorm as we were leaving Flagstaff, and it was
WONDERFUL! (For we desert dwellers, give us a little cool weather and some precipitation,
and
we're overjoyed…) We built snowmen, played in the white stuff, and thoroughly
enjoyed the amazing beauty. We even had to pull over for a time, until it let
up a little. It was great! Our motorhome looked like a giant snowball. We camped
overnight in the Wal-Mart parking lot. We visited a nearby antique store Lydiann
had been wanting to see for years, and then drove home in the sunshine the next
morning.
2003
We rang in the New Year by joining some dear friends from church for a dinner party in North Scottsdale. We had dinner, played games, visited, and enjoyed sitting by the fireplace. First time in years that Tim has stayed up late!
Ben became a teenager on February 16th. At the beginning of Spring Break in March, we took a trip to Bouse and Parker, AZ. We were revisiting some places we had gone when the boys were tiny. It was a fun and relaxing trip. On the way we made a stop in Wickenburg and had lunch at the Gold Nugget Cafe, just like we did on our honeymoon (only this time Ben was with us!)
Of course spring also brings out those early riser birds. For years we have been annoyed by woodpeckers jackhammering on the metal chimney cap of our bedroom fireplace. So... check out this Pecker Wacker that Tim invented...
Lydiann's Birthday was on Easter Sunday! We had a nice birthday
party at our house that evening.
On May 22, Bryan graduated from McClintock High School. The school year was over at the end of the month for Ben and Lydiann. We went camping at Woods Canyon Lake, which had not been damaged in the fires of last summer. The quaking aspen were beautiful, and the weather was nice.
JUNE: Ben qualified for college classes at Rio Salado College, and enrolled in an online computer programming class. On the 7th was our 23rd wedding anniversary. Bryan got his driver's license, and bought himself a car - a 1989 Camaro, which had belonged to a good friend.
JULY: We took a trip to Forest Lakes, a favorite camping area we have gone to
for years. We saw the magnificent fireworks again at Heber, and a number of
friends joined us there. Jeff moved out and into a very nice home in Chandler,
about 20 minutes from us. He and 3 friends will live in the house for 2 years,
while the owners are teaching in Taiwan for a couple of years. He has been enjoying
setting up housekeeping for himself. Ben was excited to prepare to move into
Jeff's old room. It was Horribly HOT all summer.
The school year began for Lydiann Aug. 7, and Ben began 8th Grade. Bryan started a new job, cooking at a nearby restaurant. He has always been a great cook, and was glad for this opportunity. This month was HOT- HOT - HOT! We went back up north and viewed the fire areas from last summer - the ground level re-growth was amazing. Although the trees were destroyed, we were pleased with the green grass growing. At least it didn't all look so dead. Brian and Christie La France's daughter, Mackenzie, was born. (Christie is the daughter of Tim's cousin Doug, and was our flower girl in our wedding.)
In September, we took a trip to South Gate, California, for Tim's High School class mini-reunion. There were quite a number of people again, and we had a lot of fun visiting with old friends (that is to say.. They have been friends for a long time, AND to say they are now old!). Ben was elected Student Body President at Grace Community Christian School. -- We attended a party to celebrate Tim's Aunt Ruth Stanton's 88th birthday. Arizona was STILL HORRIBLY HOT!
In October we still had INCREDIBLE, RECORD- BREAKING HOT! We stayed home this October Break. Still needing the air conditioning 24/7. Halloween night was a tiny bit cooler.
On November 4th we celebrated Aunt Damaris' 80th birthday. On Nov. 20, Lydiann directed the school Christmas musical for all the children in grades 1-4, due to an emergency in the family of the music teacher. This was a first! Although she had directed a number of dramatic performances before, she had never directed the music! It was a stretching experience! This month's BIG event was our family trip to Los Angeles for Tim's Parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary, and reunion of immediate family members. After a couple of years of planning, and hundreds of hours of preparation, the event came off beautifully, and was well attended. We also celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and twin nieces Sarah and Elizabeth's 21 birthdays. It was great spending time with the entire immediate family. There were 23 of us present. We seldom get to see those from Illinois, and there were 2 new babies to cuddle!
This Dercember, our niece Amanda, graduated a semester early from NAU, with
2 degrees - in Psychology and Criminal Justice. She plans to attend law school.
Ben and Jeff will attend the premier showing of the next Lord of the Rings movie.
They have been planning it for a whole year again. We will probably spend a
quiet Christmas at home. We have a trip planned to the high country after Christmas…we
hope to enjoy snow, small towns, and very few people!
Read Christmas
Letters From Previous Years